“It is a situation that we will handle,” he said before pivoting to domestic politics.

Trump called out Democratic leaders in the House and Senate who opted not to attend a scheduled meeting with him following a critical tweet posted earlier in the day.

Advertisement - story continues below

“They decided not to show up,” he said of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. “They’ve been all talk and no action.”

The Democratic lawmakers issued a joint statement after Trump tweeted that he did not believe he could reach common ground with them on several key issues.

Meeting with “Chuck and Nancy” today about keeping government open and working. Problem is they want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes. I don’t see a deal!

“Given that the President doesn’t see a deal between Democrats and the White House, we believe the best path forward is to continue negotiating with our Republican counterparts in Congress instead,” Pelosi and Schumer said in response.

Advertisement - story continues below

They signaled that they would meet with their Republican counterparts, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, instead of the president.

Trump predicted that the recent provocations from North Korea would make Pelosi and Schumer more likely to aim for an agreement with him.

In addition to Trump’s passing remarks during Tuesday’s conference, a Pentagon spokesperson offered some additional context to the reports of North Korea’s latest show of aggression.

“The missile was launched from Sain Ni, North Korea, and traveled about 1000 km before splashing down in the Sea of Japan, within Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ),” Col. Robert Manning said. “We are working with our interagency partners on a more detailed assessment of the launch.”

Advertisement - story continues below

He reiterated that the U.S. military is committed to protecting America and its allies.

“We remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies from any attack or provocation,” Manning concluded.